Italy has numerous dialects spoken all over the country and some Italians cannot speak Italian at all

The traditional colour of the national football team is azure blue, due to the "Azzurro Savoia" (Savoy Blue), the colour traditionally linked to the royal dynasty which unified Italy in 1861

MTV launched a reality show, Jersey Shore, which prompted severe criticism from Italian American organizations such as the National Italian American Foundation, Order Sons of Italy in America, and Unico National for its stereotypical portrayal of Italian Americans

Milan, Florence and Rome are Italy's main fashion capitals

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Italian Scuderia Ferrari is the oldest surviving team in Grand Prix racing

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Smoking in public places including bars, restaurants, night clubs and offices has been restricted to specially ventilated rooms since 2005.

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The fashion magazine Vogue Italia, is considered the most important and prestigious fashion magazine in the world

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The territory of Italy covers some 301,338 km 2 (116,347 sq mi)

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The term Italia, from Latin: Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning "land of young cattle"

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The name of Electricity measurement Volt comes from Alessandro Volta who invented the first battery in 1779

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Woody Allen says his "To Rome, With Love," is a tribute to all the old Italian films that influenced him as a young artist

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The Museo Egizio is a museum in Turin, Italy, specialising in Egyptian archaeology and anthropology. It houses the second world's largest collections of Egyptian antiquities after Cairo

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Italy's contributions to science include the barometer, electric battery, nitroglycerin, and wireless telegraphy

The translation of the name Italian tiramisù (tirami sù) means "pick-me-up" (metaphorically, "make me happy"). This may refer to the caffeine in the espresso and effect of cocoa used in the recipe

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The Amalfi Coast is known for its production of limoncello liqueur as the area is a known cultivator of lemons, known as sfusato amalfitano in Italian, which are grown in terraced gardens along the entire coast between February and October

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Pavarotti annually hosted the "Pavarotti and Friends" charity concerts in his home town of Modena in Italy, joining with singers from all parts of the music industry, including Andrea Bocelli, Jon Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Bono, James Brown, Mariah Carey, Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow, Céline Dion, Elton John, Deep Purple, Meat Loaf, Queen, George Michael, Sting and the Spice Girls, to raise money for several UN causes

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In August 2009, the Dolomites were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site

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In the dot-com period, the desk lamp " Tolomeo " became popular as a symbol of conspicuous consumption and high design consciousness in high-tech companies as well as in architectural and graphic design offices. It won the Compasso d'Oro design prize in 1989.

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Saint Pio (Pius) of Pietrelcina became famous for his bearing the stigmata. On 16 June 2002, he was canonized by Pope John Paul II

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The Trevi fountain was the setting for an iconic scene in Federico Fellini's film La Dolce Vita starring Anita Ekberg and Marcello Mastroianni

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Federica Pellegrini is the first female Olympic champion in the history of Italian swimming; she is also the only Italian swimmer to have set world records in more than one event

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Mastroianni, Dean Stockwell and Jack Lemmon are the only actors to have been twice awarded the Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival. Mastroianni won it in 1970 for Dramma della gelosia - tutti i particolari in cronaca and in 1987 for Dark Eyes

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Since 1991, Lavazza has produced the "Lavazza Calendar", featuring artistic fashion photography from some of the world's leading photographers. The calendar is not available for purchase.

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Civita di Bagnoregio was placed on the World Monuments Fund's 2006 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites, due to the threats it faces from erosion and unregulated tourism.

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The white blended wines of Est! Est!! Est!!! di Montefiascone received DOC status in 1966 and includes the volcanic soils encircling Lake Bolsena in the northern Latium region

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Laura Pausini describes herself as a Roman Catholic woman, but expressed doubts about Roman Church's position on various themes, including contraception, abortion and premarital sex

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Mortadella is very popular in Argentina, Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Chile and Uruguay, thanks to the Italian immigrants who settled in these countries in the early 20th century.

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The name "Alitalia" is an Italian portmanteau of the words ali (wings), and Italia (Italy)

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Mortadella is flavored with spices, including whole or ground black pepper, myrtle berries, nutmeg and pistachios, jalapeños and/or olives, though those with flavours other than ground pepper and myrtle are not made with the original recipe from Bologna

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On 15 October 2010, Raoul Bova was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

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Sergio Leone was most associated with the "Spaghetti Western" genre. His movies include The Last Days of Pompeii, The Colossus of Rhodes, the Dollars Trilogy (A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly), Once Upon a Time in the West, Duck, You Sucker! and Once Upon a Time in America.

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One legend, according to the Etruscans and Romans, was that the Terme di Saturnia were formed by lightning bolts, thrown by Jupiter. During a violent quarrel between the two mythological deities, the bolts thrown towards Saturn had missed, causing the formations.

Giacomo Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire. Some of his arias, such as "O mio babbino caro" from Gianni Schicchi, "Che gelida manina" from La bohème, and "Nessun dorma" from Turandot, have become part of popular culture.

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Carolina Kostner is the 2012 World champion and has three other World medals (2008 silver, 2011 and 2005 bronze)

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Today, Jacuzzi branded hot tubs, baths, showers, toilets, sinks, and accessories are commonly found in residential homes, hotels, and aboard cruise ships and have become popular in high-end spas around the world. Jacuzzi products are distributed in about 60 countries worldwide.

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From the 1980s onward, Alessi has been particularly associated with the notion of "designer" objects - otherwise ordinary tools and objects executed as high design, particularly in a post-modern mode, from designers such as Philippe Starck. ____________

Originally conceived of as a synagogue, the Mole Antonelliana now houses the Museo Nazionale del Cinema, and is the tallest museum in the world.

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Stradivari's instruments are regarded as amongst the finest bowed stringed instruments ever created, are highly prized, and are still played by professionals today.

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Galileo is mentioned several times in the "opera" section of the Queen song, "Bohemian Rhapsody".

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Luxottica Group S.p.A. is the world's largest eyewear company. Its best known brands include Ray-Ban, Persol and Oakley, Inc.. It also makes sunglasses and prescription frames for a multitude of designer brands such as Chanel and Prada, whose designs and trademarks are used under license. Luxottica also makes sunglasses branded Burberry, Polo Ralph Lauren, Stella McCartney, Tiffany, Versace, Vogue, Miu Miu, Tory Burch and Donna Karan.

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Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Christopher Columbus completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the Western Hemisphere. Those voyages, and his efforts to establish permanent settlements in the island of Hispaniola, initiated the process of Spanish colonization, which foreshadowed the general European colonization of the "New World"

Prosecco is known as the main ingredient of the Bellini cocktail and has more recently become popular as a less expensive substitute for Champagne

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The town Scilla is the traditional site of the sea monster Scylla of Greek mythology

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Asia Argento`s father is Dario Argento, an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter, well known for his work in the Italian giallo genre and for his influence on modern horror and slasher movies

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Andrea Bocelli has made a large number of contributions throughout his career. He has participated in charity benefit concerts in different countries for various charities, such as the Michael Jackson benefit concert in 1998, the Memorial Concert at Ground Zero, in New York City for the victims of the September 11 attacks, and the Music of Asia festival in 2004, for the Indian tsunami appeal. He performed with Mary J. Blige and David Foster at the 52nd Grammy Awards to raise awareness for the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. He later gave an open air concert at Masada, Israel, with the proceeds going to the residents of Galilee and Negev, and another in Sicily to support the ‘Flames of Solidarity' charity, raising awareness concerning poverty. In Greece, he held a concert at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus to help Cancer research, and performed at the ‘Children in need rocks' in Manchester, in the UK.

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Noted initially for such sensuous efforts as the Ferrari 250 Berlinetta Bertone, De Tomaso Mangusta, Iso Grifo and Maserati Ghibli, Giugiaro switched courses to introduce the highly angular "folded paper" era of the 1970s. Straight lined designs such as the BMW M1, Maserati Bora, and Maserati Merak followed before a softer approach returned in the Lamborghini Cala, Maserati Spyder, Ferrari GG50.

*Italian Hand Signals: Italians use body language and hand gestures to punctuate an expression and give it a shading that the word or phrase itself lacks. The Italian hand gestures illustrated here are some of the more common gestures that are recognized in the country. Be aware that, like dialects, certain hand signals can mean different things within different regions—and can have completely different interpretations in other cultures. HERE you find over 60 Real video clips!

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